Monday, December 16, 2013

Common Medical Errors Leading to Medical Malpractice Suits

There are several deviations from the standard of care that justify filing a medical malpractice case. I have listed the most common errors. • Anesthetic Mishaps • Delayed Birth Causing Injury o Brain & Nerve Damage o Brachial Plexus o Cerebral Palsy o Erb’s Palsy • Cancer Misdiagnosis • Emergency Room Errors • Failure To Diagnose • Infection • Misdiagnosis • Lack of Informed Consent • Nursing Home Negligence • Prescription Errors • Surgical Errors If you or a family member or a friend has been injured as a result of medical negligence or you just need to have your case reviewed, please feel free to call my office. I will discuss your case over the phone at NO COST to you. 1-888-760-7339

Monday, December 9, 2013

Post Surgery Ileus

An ileus is a blockage of the intestines (also called the bowel). The ileus prevents the movement of food, fluid, and gas through the intestines. The blockage is due to the lack of movement of the intestinal muscles. The intestinal tract is made up of small bowel and large bowel. The small bowel has three parts: the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. The large bowel has four parts: the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colon. An ileus can occur anywhere in the intestinal tract. An ileus may be caused by any type of surgery, trauma, or pain medicines (such as morphine and oxycodone). A lack of activity also may cause an ileus. A chemical reaction occurs in your body causing any part of your intestines to stop working as they should. These are the signs and symptoms of an ileus. •Nausea and vomiting •Stomach cramps •Bloating •Lack of bowel movements and gas Your medical provider should properly preforms the following test post surgery: •Physical exam •Daily x-rays of stomach and intestines •Imaging studies like a CT scan with liquid contrast so the doctors can see your GI tract clearly in the CT scan. •Blood tests If you or a family member has suffered bowel injury after surgery, call my office and Find Out What Happened. 1-888-760-7339

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Damages in Maryland Personal Injury

Personal injury damages in Maryland are broken down into Special (economic) and General (non economic) damages. Special Damages include, but are not limited to: Medical Expenses (past, present and future); Travel Cost; Lost Wages (past, present and future); Lost Earning Capacity; Loss of Vocation; and Loss of Services. General Damages include but are not limited to: Pain and Suffering; Disfigurement; Loss Capacity to Enjoy Life, Pre-Impact Freight and Loss of Consortium. Damages must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely then not the damage occurred). The jury can consider pre-injury health and post injury health as well as permanent conditions, pain and suffering and impact on activities. Damages Are Outlined As Follows: Pre-Impact Freight Past Pain and Suffering Present Pain and Suffering Future Pain and Suffering Past Medical Bills Present Medical Bills Future Medical Bills Past Lost Wages Present Lost Wages Future Lost Wages Loss Earning Capacity Diminished Earning Capacity Loss Enjoyment of Activities Loss Of Consortium Prescription Cost Travel Mileage

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Accident Lawyer in Maryland Boulivard Rule

In Maryland personal injury cases the Boulevard Rule referrers to those circumstances where one driver deprives the other of the, favored drivers, right of way. The purpose of the rule is to expedite the flow of traffic by allowing the favored driver to pass without slowing for the un favored driver. The rule applies until the un favored driver becomes part of the flow of traffic. If the un favored driver is found to have violated the rule he/she is found to be negligent as a matter of law. The rule however, does not apply if the favored driver is operating his vehicle unlawfully. If you have any questions regarding Maryland personal injury accidents, please feel free to call my office we will discuss your case over the phone at no cost to you. 1-888-760-7339.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

maryland car accident attorney

Keith Bartnik offers the unique opportunity to call a Maryland Personal Injury Attorney and ask your questions directly to him right over the phone at no cost to you. If you prefer you can use this web site to educate yourself about the process of a Maryland personal injury, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents and medical malpractice in Maryland. You will find useful and important information about Maryland personal injury, medical malpractice in Maryland and car accident issues in Baltimore and surrounding communities. Additionally, you will receive guidance on what to do immediately following an accident and how the medical malpractice procedures work in Maryland. Answers to your questions about what to expect when it comes to car rentals, repairing your property damage, lost wages, loss earning capacity, payment of medical bills, personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, insurance coverage and underinsured motorist coverage, off sets to benefits, settlement and demands, and what happens when the case will not settle. How the settlement process really works and much more from a Maryland injury attorney and Maryland personal injury lawyers. I PROUDLY ACCEPT REFERRALS FROM OTHER LAWYERS IN AND OUT OF THE STATE: If you are a Maryland personal injury lawyer, a legal professional practicing personal injury law in Maryland, or a Maryland lawyer who does not practice personal injury law in Maryland you can use this site as your reference point for valuable information and research on Maryland personal injury cases. After over 20 years of experience working as a Maryland personal injury attorney, Mr. Bartnik has represented clients in personal injury cases, medical malpractice claims, birth injuries, shoulder dystocia or erb's palsy, car accidents, motorcycle accident, truck accident, slip and fall injuries, and other traffic accidents in Maryland and associated with local counsel in many states through out the United States. Maryland personal injury auto accident cases as well as other traffic accident cases have included representation of families suffering the wrongful death of a child as a result of a traffic accident in Maryland. As a Maryland personal injury lawyer Mr. Bartnik has proven liability, and damages, litigated issues of last clear chance and has represented clients suffering serious life changing injuries. Spinal cords injuries, Erb�s palsy, back injuries, head injuries, cancer misdiagnosis, fractures, as well as, herniated disk, knee injuries, ankle injuries, facial injuries and shoulder injuries to name just a few. Mr. Bartnik has proven damages and recovered money for his clients and their families for wrongful death, survivor benefits, serious personal injury, permanent injury as well as lost wages, pain and suffering and lost enjoyment of vocation and future opportunities. While past results are no guarantee of future success, we are proud of the number of referrals we receive in injury cases from former clients and attorneys who have enough confidence in our presentation to refer their family, friends and clients to us for representation in serious injury cases. I expect you will find the information contained in this web sight to be helpful in educating you about the process of the Maryland personal injury law and procedures, pleadings, including venue issues, transfers of district court cases to the circuit court on defendant's jury request, the elements for a complaint in negligence, discovery, use of experts, settlement process, settlement involving minors, trial preparation, including motions in limine, the twenty percent rule, how to get your documents into evidence, per diem arguments, minimal property damage cases, post trial motions, jury instructions, and as a detailed overview of the personal injury law in Maryland and limitations and notice requirements. At a minimum you will discover that all Maryland personal injury attorneys and lawyers practicing personal injury law in Maryland will review a Maryland personal injury case in terms of three general categories of inquiry. This understanding is the key to fully appreciating the simplistic nature of the Maryland personal injury case. The three pieces of the Maryland personal injury puzzle are liability, damages and insurance coverage. Liability is simply who is at fault. Damages addressed if you were injured and if yes how badly. Insurance coverage answers the question, who is going to pay for this mess? The three pieces of the Maryland personal injury puzzle that must fit securely together and in place for a personal injury attorneys case to be successful in Maryland. This is as true for every case whether it is a slip and fall case, car accident case, or even the malpractice case. When you or your family members or your friends have questions about what to do next following an accident, please feel free to call me directly.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Erbs Palsy

Erbs Palsy medical negligence cases usually involve one or more of the following issues: Failure to estimate the baby's weight before delivery Failure to perform a cesarean section Failure to diagnose and treat gestational diabetes Failure to inform parents of the risks inherent in vaginally delivering a large infant. Failure to perform appropriate delivery techniques to manage shoulder dystocia Applying unnecessary and excessive force during the delivery Applying inappropriate delivery techniques to manage shoulder dystocia In general, in order to recover for medical malpractice a plaintiff must (1) establish a doctor-patient relationship; (2) demonstrate that the doctor's performance did not conform to good or accepted medical practices; and (3) show that damage resulted from the doctor's failure to conform to good medical practices. In the case of deliveries that result in a form of brachial plexus palsy, the plaintiff must first establish that the delivering doctor (if this is the party being sued) and the infant that the doctor delivered had a doctor-patient relationship. In most cases this inquiry should be straightforward. If the doctor is acting voluntarily in delivering the child, the doctor-patient relationship most likely exists. In order to establish that the doctor failed to act in a manner consistent with good medical practices, the plaintiff must offer expert testimony on the issue. This expert testimony must establish that the defendant doctor failed to exercise the degree of care, skill, and proficiency exercised by reasonably careful, skillful, and prudent practitioners in the same class, acting under the same or similar circumstances. Simply put, the plaintiff must show that a competent doctor would have act differently in order to prevent injuring the child. In the case of brachial plexus injury, this may require a showing that a competent doctor would have prevented the shoulder dystocia or would have followed protocols that would have prevented the shoulder dystocia from resulting in the brachial plexus injury. In a medical practice suit concerning brachial plexus palsy, this element of the case will most often represent the most important and pivotal aspect of the plaintiff's case. Finally, the plaintiff must establish that as a result of the doctor's negligence the plaintiff suffered damages. In the case of Brachial Plexus Palsy, damages can include medical expenses for treatment, pain and suffering, if the injury results in permanent palsy perhaps loss of future earnings, and any other economic and non-economic damages that the plaintiff might suffer. I you, a family member or a friend have any questions regarding medical negligence or the erbs palsy injury, please feel free to call my office. I will discuss your case with you, over the phone at no cost to you. 1-888-760-7339

Maryland Pedestrian Accidents where no sidewalk is available.

The Maryland courts have had the opportunity to consider the fact pattern where a pedestrian is walking along a roadway and there is no sidewalk bordering the roadway. Specifically, Whitt v. Dynan, 315 A.2d 122, 20 Md.App. 148 (Md. App., 1974) involving the death of a pedestrian wherein, the Appellant contends that his motion for a judgment n. o. v. should have been granted. He maintains that Code (1957), Art. 66 1/2, § 11-506(b) prohibits a pedestrian from walking along a highway except on the left side facing oncoming traffic. He asserts that the decedent was contributorily negligent as a matter of law because the evidence establishes that the deceased was walking along the right side of the road with his back toward the approaching traffic. Appellees contend that the statute requires a pedestrian to walk on the left side of the road facing traffic only when it is practicable to do so. They insist that the evidence shows that in order to comply with the statute the deceased would have had to cross York Road against heavy traffic without benefit of a crosswalk or traffic light at a time when visibility was poor. They conclude that the question of whether noncompliance with the statute was justified under these circumstances was properly submitted to the jury. Neither of these positions is entirely correct. Code (1957) as amended, 2 Art. 66 1/2, § 11-506 provides: '(a) Where sidewalks provided.-Where sidewalks are provided it shall be unlawful for any pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway. '(b) Where sidewalks not provided.-Where sidewalks are not provided, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk only on the left shoulder, when practicable, or on the left side of the roadway as near as practicable to the edge of the roadway facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction.' The effect of this statute as a penal provision is clear. Its words are plain and unambiguous. We are persuaded from a reading of the statute that where sidewalks are not provided pedestrians are required to walk either on the left shoulder or the edge of the left side of the roadway facing oncoming traffic. A pedestrian's failure to exercise one of these two options constitutes a misdemeanor. I recently completed a case where my client received a sizable recovery as a pedestrian walking in the roadway were no sidewalk was available. If you or a family member or friend has been injured as a pedestrian please feel free to call my office we will discuss your case over the phone at no cost to you 1-888-760-7339

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Baltimore Attorney

Keith Blair Bartnik is a Maryland Personal Injury, Malpractice and Divorce in Maryland lawyer who offers a unique opportunity to the public to call him directly. You will get your questions answered, NOW. In representing clients in Maryland divorce Mr. Bartnik has extensive experience and knowledge in matters involving, divorce in Maryland including venue issues, grounds for divorce, limited divorce in Maryland, absolute divorce in Maryland, pendente lite (temporary) relief, custody, including shared physical custody and sole physical custody, modification of child custody, visitation, parental alienation syndrome, child support, child support enforcement issues, above child support guideline incomes, child support modification, definition of what constitutes income in Maryland Divorce cases, financial statements, use and possession, contribution, suit money, marital property, dissipation of marital assets, alimony, the . Maryland Uniform Child Custody and Enforcement ActAs well as Maryland's Domestic Violence Statute, Masters Hearings and Exceptions to Masters Reports and Recommendations, and child abuse issues. When you are able to resolve the issues of your divorce in Maryland by settlement agreement we have the experience and know how to be sure your rights and interest are protected. If you have to go to court to resolve the Maryland divorce issues Mr. Bartnik's trial experience will be your best asset. To learn more about divorce in Maryland simply follow the links below to additional information and feel free to call me. I am more then happy to discuss your divorce in Maryland case. Please visit Anatomy of a divorce in Maryland for an overview of the Maryland divorce process. You will find interesting reading on pivotal cases in divorce in Maryland cases such as Ricketts v. Ricketts 393 Md. 479, 903 A.2d 857 (2006); Taylor v Taylor and Sanders 38 Md.App. 406, 381 A.2d 1154 Md.App. 1977. And also the tort action Maryland recognizes for interference with the custodial relationship. In all Maryland personal injury cases you are invited to discuss liability and damages involving your personal injury case, auto accident case, medical malpractice case, birth injury case, car accident case or any other injury case in Maryland at no cost. As to Maryland personal injury cases, Mr. Bartnik has represented clients in personal injury cases, medical malpractice claims, car accidents, motorcycle accident, truck accident, and other traffic accidents in Maryland as well as slip and fall cases for more then 20 years. Car accident injury cases and other traffic accident cases have included representation of families suffering the wrongful death of a child as a result of the Maryland personal injury accident. As a Maryland car accident and personal injury attorney, Mr. Bartnik has represented clients suffering serious life changing injuries. These in include but are not limited to spinal cords injuries, back injuries, head injuries, cancer misdiagnosis, fractures, as well as, herniated disk, knee injuries, ankle injuries, facial injuries and shoulder injuries to name just a few. Mr. Bartnik has represented clients and assisted other attorneys in Maryland personal injury cases on issues such as intake information, investigation, treatment, property damage, PIP coverage, lost wages, car rental, settlements, filing suit, elements of a complaint in negligence, form of pleadings, limitations, venue/jurisdiction, Circuit Court/District Court, witness subpoenas, getting records into evidence, trial, preparation proof of damages, the cap on damages, loss of consortium, transportation cost, opening statement, direct examination, cross examination, medical experts, closing statement, and post trial motions, as well as, proven damages and recovered money for his clients and their families for wrongful death, survivor benefits, serious personal injury, permanent injury, lost wages, pain and suffering and lost enjoyment of vocation and future opportunities.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Maryland Injury Lawyer

One of the preliminary issues to be resolved as a Maryland injury lawyer deals with the issue of venue. The venue refers to the location where suit should properly be filed as required by Maryland law. Generally, any civil action which would include automobile accident cases are filed in the count the where the defendant lives or where he works. Additionally pursuant to the courts and judicial proceedings article 6 – 202 (eight) also permits an additional venue in the county where the automobile accident actually happened. If you encounter a situation where the at fault party is a Corporation, then the Corporation can be sued where it maintains its principal office in the state of Maryland or where he carries on any rate or business. Whenever you have a automobile accident case where there are multiple at fault parties then venue may be established by filing suit in a county in which any one of the at fault defendants can be sued or of course in the county where the accident occurred. The choice of venue is a very important consideration in serious accident cases which will be tried by jury. Other considerations are issues of convenience to the parties and the witness and the history of favorable verdicts from the juries in the various venues. If you have been involved in an auto accident and you need a Maryland injury lawyer then please feel free to call me at 1-888-760-7339. I am available to discuss your case over the phone at no cost to you.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer

As a Maryland personal injury lawyer I am called upon to evaluate the personal injury cases every day. Each analysis starts at the same point, initially, as we investigate the liability. Who is at fault? Generally liability is imposed in automobile accident cases when the driver of the other vehicle drives in a careless manner and causes injury to the plaintiff. To maintain proof of liability the plaintiff must prove a duty owed to the plaintiff; a breach of that duty by the defendant; a causal connection between the breach and the injury as well as damages. If you been involved in a motor vehicle accident please feel free to call me as I am happy to discuss the case with you and will do so at no cost to you. 1-888-760-7339

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage

If you don’t have it you probably need it. What is it? Adequate car insurance. Really, yup I said it. But the fact is I represent people injured in automobile accidents. Sometimes the driver at fault has no insurance or inadequate insure to cover the cost of damages. I mean in most every case lost wages, medical bills, future medical bills, future lost wages, it’s a lot of money. That can leave the inured without compensation for the injury. Not good. There is a fix. You can protect yourself in advance with your own insurance. But you have to have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, if you carry that coverage, Good. If not Bad. Check with your insurance carrier and consider your reading this a sign that you should act now.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Rear End Accidents

Aside from the medical malpractice claims my office also represents clients who have been involved in automobile accidents. The knee-jerk reaction for most people is to assume that if you run into the back of another vehicle you are negligent by definition. However the law in the state of Maryland has made clear that the mere happening of a rear end collision is not proof of negligence. The driver of the front vehicle must exercise ordinary care not to stop or slow up without giving the other driver adequate warning of his intention to do so. While it is true the driver of the rear vehicle must also exercise ordinary care to avoid colliding with the vehicle in front. If you been involved in an automobile accident please feel free to call me directly and I will investigate the case for you to determine not only the liability but also the damages and the insurance coverage.